DC is Doing the Opposite of X-Men: Days of Future Past With the Flash – Screen Rant

DC's upcomingFlash movie is serving almost the exact opposite function ofX-Men: Days of Future Past. Evenbefore a global pandemicswept in and put a complete halt on the industry, 2020 felt like a transitional year for superhero movies. After years of dominance, Marvel found themselves in uncharted waters for the first time,with the Infinity saga complete and major stars such as Scarlet Witch, Loki and Falcon all making their way to Disney+. After initially attempting to emulate the shared universe format of the MCU, and not achieving the desired results, DC movies have branched andforged a movie series format all of their own.

Both franchises now appear to befully committed to the multiverse route. After hinting and teasing the existence ofother universes, Marvel haveDoctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness lined up for 2022, but the true influence and scale of the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse remains unknown for now. DC, however, are beginning to show their hand. Due to the very nature of his abilities (and some checkered comic book history), Flash has always had the potential to break down barriers between universes, both in fictional terms and by mashing previously unconnected franchises together. A DCEUFlash movie has been in the works for some time, subject to constant upheaval, but a 2022 release was finally announced towards the end of last year.

Related:Michael Keaton's Batman Return Can Explain Flash's BvS Warning

DC signaled exactly where they hopeThe Flash can take their movie franchise when it was announced that Michael Keaton would be reprising his role as Batman from the Tim Burton movies of the late 1980s and early 1990s. This nothing short of seismic announcement clearly demonstrateshow DC intend to remold their movie universe over the coming years, and it's similar to howDays of Future Pastfundamentally altered theX-Men franchise... but instead of bringing together different comic book movie worlds,The Flash is going to smash the DCEU apart.

Fox'sX-Men franchise may predate both the MCU and the DCEU, but that doesn't mean its timeline was any simpler. Spearheading the modern superhero movie withX-Men in 2000, Wolverine and the ganghit trouble with 2006'sThe Last Stand, which was roundly panned by fans and critics. With a Wolverine solo series also struggling to find its feet, Fox decided to hit (or push very lightly) the reset button andX-Men: First Class in 2011 was the result. A well-loved Hugh Jackman cameo places Matthew Vaughn's X-effort in the same continuity as the existing trilogy but, to all intents and purposes,First Classis a reboot with a younger cast and a new attitude.

WhileFirst Class was praised as a fresh and exciting take on theX-Men movie franchise, the overall continuity was left a little worse for wear. Between the main series, Jackman's spin-offs and a Cold War prequel, the once-linearX-Men franchise had now become anything but. The story behind Charles Xavier losing his ability to walk was in constant flux, Mystique was an entirely different character and there were multiple versions of characters such as Emma Frost and Moira MacTaggert.

Days of Future Past offered a potential solution. Marrying together the old and new casts in a time-twisting tale, the 2014 movie attempted to establish a clearer timeline forX-Mencinematic canon, but more importantly, sought to mop up any existing disparity. When Wolverine returns to 2023 inDays of Future Past's final moments, he's confused to find more changes to the timeline than anticipated, with Jean Grey and Cyclops walking around likeThe Last Stand never happened. The message is (more or less) clear - a line has been drawn under all previousX-Men continuity, and future movies will be telling their own story going forward. Every pastX-Men installment took placewithin the same physical plane, but the timeline is reset and the future (or, indeed, the past) is unwritten, maintaining the singularity of theX-Men movie franchise. Whether this was the correct move remains a matter of debate, butDays of Future Past succeeded in merging the diverse tracks created by over a decade's worth of films into a single forward-moving mutant train.

Related:Shared Universes Are Dead, Long Live The NEW Shared Universe

Compared to theX-Men franchise, the continuity of the DCEU looks positively watertight. Naturally, there are inconsistencies; abandoning Zack Snyder'splan afterBatman V Supermanmeans certain storybeatslead viewers down a narrative cul-de-sac, and there are some inconsistent character personalities between movies, but these are small superhero potatoes compared to the numerous plot holes and contradictions Fox were guilty of withX-Men. The DCEU has implemented no major retcons and despite diving back in time withWonder Woman, the franchise's fictional history flows without hitting any significant speed bumps. Whatever pitfalls the DCEU might have in terms ofomittingDarkseid and dropping the Knightmare arc, the in-world canon works just fine as it is.

Unfortunately, that situation won't be viable for much longer. Henry Cavill's future as Superman is unclear, with recent reports indicating that the actor could return in a minor capacity, but that Warner Bros. remain hesitant on aMan of Steel 2. Ben Affleck has officially quit as the DCEU's Bruce Wayne, forcingThe Batman to cast Robert Pattinson in the lead role and move into its own area of continuity. The general disdain towards 2017'sJustice League has led to the 2021 release of the Snyder cut, which will effectively replace the theatrical version of the DCEU team-up in the minds of fans. And, finally, James Gunn will be introducing a mostly new cast of reckless reprobates inThe Suicide Squad. Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Shazam will continue to enjoy their own solo adventures and Black Adam's arrival is drawing closer, but in terms of developing the DCEU as a linear "A-to-B" continuity, the momentum has stalled.

This leaves the DC movie franchise in a curious position. Fans are excited for the likes ofWonder Woman 1984,The Batman andZack Snyder's Justice League, but as standalone movies, rather than a part of anylong-term continuity. With 2019'sJoker proving immensely successful and Ezra Miller's Flash popping up in The CW's Arrowverse, it appeared that "standalone" would be the modus operandi for DC movies moving forward. This is whereThe Flash comes in, with Barry not only messing up the timeline (again), but promising something far more exciting for the DCEU as a whole.

By bringing Keaton's Batman back into the fold,The Flashcould shatter established DCEU continuity, creating a multiverse that doesn't just encompass recent DC fare (Joker,The Batman), but that also reaches into decades past. The opportunities such a bold multiversesetup presents are almost endless; any iteration of any DC character could combine with another, offering a unique spin on superhero storytelling that feels entirely separate to what the MCU has offered thus far.

Related:DC's Multiverse Means Pattinson's Batman Can Fight Phoenix's Joker

As well as bringing separate movie franchises together via the multiverse,The Flash could also give the heroes of the DCEU license to operate within their own continuities, depending on howbadly Barry cracks space and time. Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Shazam could be given license to break free from existing DCEU continuity and move forward in their own separate series of films, unrestricted by past creative decisions and the necessity of recasting actors. A hypothetical scenario -Warner Bros. could cast anbrand new Superman for a series of big screen solo ventures, andeventually unitehim with Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman, bringing Pattinson's Batman over fromThe Batman's universefor good measure. All the benefits of interconnected, crossover storytelling, but without the restrictions of shared continuity.

And this is whyThe Flashis exactly opposite toX-Men: Days of Future Past. Faced with the cumulative problems of adhering to a concrete timeline, Fox used Wolverine's time travelling to bring together the diverging threads of theX-Men movie world, consolidating the future into a single path forward. The DCEUnow finds itself with similarcontinuity concerns, but rather than bringing threads together, are seemingly usingThe Flash to break them apart. The multiverse will still allow for future crossover, but whereDays of Future Past was all about reigning in a wildX-Men timeline,The Flash is setting DC's entire movie roster free from the shared universe leash.

More:Why Marvel's Multiverse Will Be Bigger Than The DCEU's

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Craig first began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016, several years after graduating college, and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. Having previously written for various sports and music outlets, Craig's interest soon turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally came into its own.Craig has previously been published on sites such as Den of Geek, and after many coffee-drenched hours hunched over a laptop, part-time evening work eventually turned into a full-time career covering everything from the zombie apocalypse to the Starship Enterprise via the TARDIS. Since joining the Screen Rant fold, Craig has been involved in breaking news stories and mildly controversial ranking lists, but now works predominantly as a features writer. Jim Carrey is Craigs top acting pick and favorite topics include superheroes, anime and the unrecognized genius of the High School Musical trilogy.

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DC is Doing the Opposite of X-Men: Days of Future Past With the Flash - Screen Rant